


Warm Sand

by morrezela



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-28
Updated: 2015-02-28
Packaged: 2018-03-15 14:42:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3450896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morrezela/pseuds/morrezela
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Talia Hale had a lot on her plate as she worked on both her training to take over as alpha of the Hale pack one day and finish her college degrees. She didn’t have time to develop feelings for Melissa Delgado.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Warm Sand

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vexatious_vehome](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vexatious_vehome/gifts).



> Disclaimer: This is not mine. MTV owns the rights. The show is Jeff Davis’s crack monkey.
> 
> Warnings: Brief mentions of Rafael McCall being a jerk, but he is not featured in this story beyond a couple jealousy making mentions.
> 
> A/N: This was written for vexatious_vehome for the Teen Wolf Rare Pair exchange on Tumblr. This is an AU where Talia and Melissa went to the same college. While this is an AU, I didn’t change the era that these ladies would have gone to college. That means no cellphones or internet. But I did keep it in the fictional world Davis uses where everybody is accepting of homosexual behavior.
> 
> Many thanks to my friend Anna for the beta read. I hope you enjoyed your taste of fanfic, and I didn’t scare you off. 
> 
> Any mistakes you find are my own.

There were few things that Talia disliked about being groomed to be the future alpha of the Hale pack. From the time that she was born, she had felt the pull of her destiny in her blood. One day the pack would be hers, and it was both her honor and pleasure to take over that role.

 

But there _were_ a couple issues that were irritating about being the heir apparent to the pack. For one thing, there were far more meetings than what a regular beta would be required to attend. Then there were extra lessons in control, mandatory education requirements on top of the normal ones that a woman of Talia’s age might be required to attend, and the ever necessary diplomatic meetings.

 

One of those meetings was why Talia was slipping into Ethics 1400 at four in the afternoon, hoping that there was still a seat open. There had been a border conflict with a neighboring pack on the day that she was supposed to register for classes. Talia had still gotten most of the ones that she had wanted. But there were few that were full when she got her turn in line, and she hadn’t had a large selection to choose from after registering so late.

 

By the time that the dispute had been settled, Talia had three new sets of scars slowly disappearing from her ribcage, and a less than desirable selection of electives to attend. She wasn’t in a good mood about it. The class time of Ethics 1400 was inconvenient. It didn’t start early enough in the day for it to be a true day class, yet it didn’t late enough to have the convenience of a night class.

 

Plus, the professor was boring. Talia had had him the previous semester and had become a caffeine addict just to stay awake through his lectures. She had hoped to wean off the coffee before her junior year hit, but it looked like she wasn’t going to have much luck with that.

 

The only seat left was annoyingly in the middle of the classroom. Talia preferred to be up front. The air didn’t reek as much with the odor of students who decided that bathing was an optional requirement in a first world country. Also, despite what her moronic fellow students might say, she was called on far less up when she sat up font than she did anywhere else.

 

Personally, she doubted the intelligence of the students who thought they were getting by with hiding in the classroom. If she was ever going to bite a teenager or college student, she was going to take a look at their preferred seating positions first. There would be no slacker biting in her pack.  


“Hey,” a female voice whispered from behind her. Talia turned to see a smiling and generally sheepish face looking at her. “Do you have a pen? I forgot mine,” the voice owner asked.

 

Talia suppressed a sigh and dug a pen out of her backpack. The answering smile was sunnier than California ever got anymore. Talia bit her tongue to keep from pointing out that people in college should really know to pack both a pen and a spare if they planned on having a career after graduation. She was spared any further temptation on that end when the professor walked into the room to start the class.

 

The lecture that commenced was just as boring as Talia thought it would be. She dutifully took notes, but secretly commiserated with the student she heard snoring to her right. If she wasn’t both a good student and a werewolf who would be bothered by the noise, she might have tried to join in the napping.

 

As it was, she was stuck listening to the monotone voice of her professor and the scratching of pencils and pens around her. If Talia concentrated hard enough, she could probably decipher the differences between the drawing of actual letters versus random doodling, but there were lines to how far she wanted to go to alleviate her boredom.

 

“I’m going to count off,” the instructor announced towards the end of the class. “Please remember your number as I will be assigning different topics to each group. You will not be able to switch partners. I expect you will do well together.”

 

Talia tried not to wince. She hated group projects. There was nothing meaningful ever gleaned from them. They were just a way to get slackers to pass and make good students cry as they overworked themselves to compensate.

 

To her surprise, instead of counting up and down the rows like most teachers did, the instructor counted across the room. Back and forth he went until Talia found herself assigned to be with Miss Forgets-Her-Pen.

 

“Hey,” Talia’s pencil debtor said with that silly, dimpled smile on her lips. “Want to set up a meeting time right now? I don’t know about you, but I’m swamped this semester. Nursing doesn’t have the easiest class load.”

 

Talia managed to smile back. That was a miracle given her propensity to frown. Her mother always told her that she was too serious about life. “Sure,” she managed to say.

 

“Great! I’m Melissa, in case you didn’t catch that earlier. I’m in Stuntz Hall. I don’t have a phone in my dorm room, but my RA is good at letting me know if I have a call. She has a good quality answering machine too, so leave a message if she doesn’t pick up.”

 

Talia nodded and wrote down the numbers that Melissa Delgado rattled off to her. “We should meet at the student coffee shop,” she suggested. The cafeteria was hell on her ears. The high ceilings amplified all the discussions to a dull roar. She would suggest the library, but she had learned during her freshman year that students didn’t work if there wasn’t a steady supply of caffeine and food available.

 

“Sounds good,” Melissa said with another smile. “You wanna give me your phone number?”

 

“Sure. I can give you my pager too,” Talia offered.

 

“You have a pager? You must be rich,” Melissa commented absently.

 

Talia gave her a tight smile. The Hale family was wealthy, extremely so. They had all but built Beacon Hills and still owned over a third of its industry. But if there was one thing that Talia had learned, it was that people could be as ruthless as hunters if they thought they could get money out of you.

 

“Something like that,” Talia replied.

 

Melissa gave her a tight smile in return. “I’d better get going,” she said. “I’ve got a waitressing shift over at Al’s Diner.”

 

Talia nodded and packed her own bag up slowly so that all the other students vacated the room before she exited. She couldn’t help getting a whiff of Melissa’s scent as she walked by Talia’s desk she smelled like warm sand covered by the lingering aroma of coffee and French fries.

 

The scent caught Talia unawares. The allure of it was strong. She should have noticed it earlier, but she could admit that she had been distracted by other things. Her annoyance had made her inattentive to her surroundings. That was something that she would have to work on before she became Alpha. Distraction could cost lives.

 

Talia had a feeling that Melissa Delgado was about to be the worst sort of distraction.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“So I said to him, ‘What do I look like, your maid?’ And he said, ‘No, my waitress. Now get me a beer.’”

 

“At which point you dumped your drink down his pants and walked away?” Talia interrupted Melissa’s story.  


Melissa’s smile fell. “Not exactly.”

 

Talia arched her eyebrows and looked back down at her textbook. Two weeks into their class, and she hadn’t managed to shake her sudden interest in a girl who should by all logic be annoying her. Talia was studious and the heir to a great responsibility. She shouldn’t be attracted to a woman who was sunny, went to parties and crushed on tall guys who were jerks.

 

“Maybe you should find somebody nicer,” Talia suggested.

 

“Who?” Melissa asked, taking a sip of the soda that she had stuck between her pile of textbooks and her pile of notepads. “It’s college. Guys will be guys.”

 

Talia bit her lip to keep from pointing out that ‘guys’ weren’t the only option. “McCall is kind of a dick is all,” she said instead.

 

“True,” Melissa agreed, “but it’s not like I’ve got other boys pounding down the door wanting to date me. I’m not even sure Rafe wants to date me given the lack of actual asking out on dates that has happened.”

 

“So focus on your schoolwork,” Talia suggested with a tap of her pen against the tome of medical terminology Melissa was supposed to be memorizing.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Melissa grumbled, flipping the book open. “I just want somebody nice to be with, you know?”

 

“I do,” Talia admitted. Despite all appearances, college was rough on her. Werewolves were social animals. Having a roommate didn’t help her yearning to be near pack. They cohabitated, they didn’t interact. She half thought that was why she suggested that she and Melissa start studying together after they turned in their group project.

 

“Realllllly?” Melissa asked, eyes glinting with mischief.

 

Talia sighed. “Being selective is not the same thing as wanting to be alone.”

 

“You never go to parties,” Melissa said.

 

“That would be the selective part,” Talia pointed out. “And how would you know I don’t like going to parties? You haven’t known me that long.”  


“Call it a hunch,” Melissa said with a wave of her hand in Talia’s direction. “You’re too serious.”

 

“I have to be,” Talia stated. “I’m only going to get one chance at this time in my life. I’m not going to waste it drinking cheap beer and getting bad grades.”

 

“You sound like an adult,” Melissa teased.

 

“Last I checked I was one,” Talia shot back.

 

“You know what I meant. You sound like you could wake up tomorrow running a corporation and having fancy lunches with investors.”

 

Talia smiled. “Don’t be silly. Branch manager is more my style.”

 

Melissa threw her spare eraser at Talia in response.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The problem with being around Melissa was that Talia never quite got her scent out of her nose. Even when Talia was alone, it clung to her: her clothes, her hair, her book bag and pens. Each inhale was a reminder of Melissa’s existence.

 

Talia wasn’t one to lie to herself. She knew that she had developed a fascination for the other woman. Melissa brought a smile to Talia’s lips when she thought about her. Talia liked Melissa’s joyfulness even if she couldn’t always understand why Melissa was so positive.

 

Talia would like to say that she had a crush, but it was more than that. She was allowing Melissa to make a place in her life. That level of trust was given to people who either were or would one day become pack. Talia hadn’t even established the same amount of faith in Alan Deaton, and he would one day be her emissary.

 

Logic dictated that she should just ask Melissa out. If she didn’t share Talia’s partiality, that would be the end of it. Talia could be sad about the rejection and move on.

 

But the fear of ‘What if?’ kept beating back against Talia’s normally stalwart determination. There was Melissa’s crush on Rafe McCall. There were also exams to study for. What if Talia didn’t have time for a romantic entanglement even if Melissa agreed?

 

What if Melissa found out about werewolves and didn’t take it well? Talia had never had to tell a boyfriend or girlfriend about her secret before. There had been a human who knew because her father was one and a couple werewolves. There had even been one human who didn’t know, but Steven had never been serious enough for Talia to worry about.

 

In fact, nobody in Talia’s dating history had been all that serious. Thinking that Melissa could be was a big step. Talia couldn’t deny that it was a purely emotional thought given how she hadn’t known Melissa for that long.

 

But as human as Talia was, she was also a wolf. Even though her control was impeccable for a werewolf her age, she was still swayed by instinct. She had scented Melissa and had observed her. The first instance of being incapable to pack her backpack with a writing utensil aside, Melissa was intelligent and capable.

 

She was also kind, positive and good looking. Asking her out wouldn’t be some sort of calamity. If she didn’t want to go out on a date with Talia, she would be gracious as she declined the offer.

 

Taking a deep breath, Talia nodded to herself. She would just have to wait for the right time, and she would ask. There was no reason to keep hanging in a state of limbo about it.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“You’re distracted,” Melissa accused as they walked towards the student parking lot.

 

“Yeah,” Talia admitted. “I’ve got something on my mind.”  


Melissa gave her a good natured push on her shoulder when Talia didn’t continue speaking. “Care to share?”

 

Talia bit her lip. “I was thinking about asking you out.”

 

“Cool. Where?” Melissa asked.

 

“No. Like out on a date,” Talia said, coming to a halt.

 

“Yeah. I kinda got that. Where?” Melissa pushed.

 

“Wait. Just like that you’re accepting?” Talia balked.

 

Melissa rolled her eyes. “I’m not stupid, Hale. You kept hanging around for a reason, and it wasn’t because I could help you study.”

 

“You didn’t say anything!” Talia protested.

 

Melissa waved her hand dismissively. “You looked grumpy about it. I figured I’d let you come to your own conclusions before pushing you about it. Besides, I like being asked out by pretty people.”

 

“People like Rafe?” Talia stupidly said.

 

Melissa, however, snorted in laughter. “The jealousy about him that rolled off you in waves was pretty obvious. I figured I’d go out with whichever one of you asked me first. You asked; he didn’t.”

 

“Good,” Talia stated.

 

“It’s only good so long as you take me someplace nice,” Melissa corrected. “I expect to have great food and scintillating dinner conversation.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Mike’s Italian Buffet doesn’t exactly scream great Italian food, but I’m suitably impressed,” Melissa she tasted her lasagna.

 

“I wouldn’t take you somewhere with bad food. Not on our first date,” Talia said. Sometimes having enhanced senses made life easier rather than harder. It certainly made finding a good restaurant less of a chore. Food that smelled good usually tasted good as well.

 

“I don’t know. I’ve been on some doozies of first dates,” Melissa said.

 

Talia nodded in sympathy. “Haven’t we all? I like to think I have higher standards than most.”

 

“And I met those standards?” Melissa asked.

 

“Well, it did take you a while to get over my first impression of you. Forgetting to pack a pen or pencil is something people have nightmares about, not something they actually do,” Talia said.

 

“Ooh, insulting your date is bad manners. I think you’ll have to buy me dessert to make up for that,” Melissa warned.

 

Talia smiled. “I think I can afford it.”  


Melissa took another bite of her food. Her face looked thoughtful for as she chewed. “So if I made such a bad first impression, what changed your mind? I know it wasn’t my great intellect. You practically wrote our project and had me sign my name to it.”

 

“Your intellect is just fine,” Talia said. She paused for a moment before answering Melissa’s question with the truth. “I liked the way you smelled.”

 

Melissa blushed. “Remind me to keep wearing the same deodorant.”

 

“It’s nice,” Talia agreed even though her attraction to Melissa was more to her natural scent than her deodorant. But she liked Melissa’s choice in perfumes and the like. It wasn’t a lie, and explaining what she really meant would be creepy, so she let it slide.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“I had a good time tonight,” Melissa said as Talia walked her to her dorm building.

 

“I did too,” Talia agreed.

 

“We should do it again,” Melissa suggested.

 

“Absolutely,” Talia said as she stepped closer. She was taller than Melissa by a few inches, but that extra height didn’t do anything to make her feel strong in the moment. She tilted her head and moved slowly towards Melissa’s face.

 

“Oh, come on,” Melissa sighed as she put her hands on either side of Talia’s face and hauled her in for a kiss. “Better?” she asked as she let go.

 

“The best,” Talia breathlessly answered.

 

“You know it,” Melissa joked.

 

They stared at each other for a while listening to the hum of distant traffic.

 

“I should get going,” Talia finally broke the silence. “I have an early class tomorrow.”

 

“Yeah. Me too, I mean,” Melissa stuttered. “I’ll see you around?”

 

“You can count on it,” Talia confirmed.

 

“Okay. Goodnight then,” Melissa said with a little wave before she turned around and went into her building.

 

Talia watched until she couldn’t see Melissa through the glass doors any longer. She resisted the urge to listen to make sure that Melissa made it all the way to her dorm room safely. But she did take one last breath of air to catch the last remnants of Melissa’s scent before she made the trek back to her building.

 

The scent of warm sand carried her home.

 

 


End file.
